Mar 7, 2012

2012 is a special year for securitysoftware companies like Kaspersky, as they not only have to deliver their yearly updates to their customer base, but also make sure that their products are compatible with Microsoft’s soon to be released operating system Windows 8.

Kaspersky today has released a technology preview of Kasperksy InternetSecurity 2013 that has been specifically designed for Microsoft’s new operating system. Beta users should not confuse the release with the previously released KIS 2013 Beta for previous Windows operating systems.

The 143 Megabyte download includes the full Internet Security 2013 product for 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 8. The product will be automatically activated for 90 days after the day of installation on the system.

The company notes that “the software is distributed as is”, and that it “may be unstable”, which indicate that it is a beta product aimed at sorting out as many of the bugs that the testers find.

The download page does not reveal many information about new and improved features in this particular version. According to the page, the product’s speed has been improved significantly and will not “reduce PC performance” anymore. The only other changes mentioned are integration between the KIS Technology Preview and the Windows Security Center, and support for new security features of the Windows 8 operating system.

Kaspersky has created a new support forum for beta users to report bugs and exchange information.

Kaspersky is not the only company that is readying their product line for Windows 8. Avast in late February released this year’s security lineup with full Windows 8 support.

Should you install a beta security product? That depends. It may make sense if your company or you are running the latest Kaspersky versions and you want to make sure that the upcoming version is compatible with other software running on the systems. I’d otherwise suggest you skip the beta and select a software that is already available as a final product.

Update: My first try to install Kaspersky Internet Security 2013 failed miserably. The installer prompted for a reboot to complete the installation, but there was no sign that the security software was installed after the reboot. The Kaspersky folders where there, but there was no process running in the background, no system tray icon or any other indicator that the program had been installed.

The reason for this was a restart prompt in the middle of installation. I first assumed that it was a prompt by the installer to finish the installation after reboot. This apparently was not the case. You need to select Reboot Later when the prompt comes up to avoid the same issue. (viaTechdows)